• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Start Here
  • Money Pit Podcast
  • Leave a Review
The Money Pit house logo

The Money Pit

Home Improvement Tips & Podcasts

  • Media Kit
  • Affiliates
  • Ask a Question
  • Spaces
    • Outdoor Living
    • Kitchens
    • Bathrooms
    • Garages & Sheds
    • Basements & Crawlspaces
    • Home Exteriors
  • Reno/Repair
    • Air Conditioning
    • Windows
    • Floors
    • Roofs & Gutters
    • Insulation
    • Lighting & Wiring
  • Popular Topics
    • Storage & Organization
    • Painting & Decorating
    • Cleaning
    • Pests & Wildlife
    • Buying or Selling a Home
  • Features
    • Green Home
    • Pet Friendly
    • Kid Spaces
    • DIY
    • Quick Tips
  • Podcasts
    • The Money Pit Home Improvement Podcast
    • Money Pit Minute Podcast
    • Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast
    • Top Products Podcast
    • ProFiles Podcast
Man painting a white kitchen

Air Filter: Portable vs. Whole Home

Air Filter: Portable vs. Whole Home

GeneralAir ConditioningPodcasts Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast
FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail
The Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast Logo
Leslie Segrete & Tom Kraeutler, Hosts of The Money Pit by The Hosts Leave a Comment
  • iTunes logo
  • Google Podcasts logo
  • Spotify logo
  • Chartable logo

LESLIE: Alright. Dot in Wisconsin, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?

DOT: I was wondering if you could give me some information on a good air purifier with low maintenance and maybe some information on the filters.

LESLIE: Alright.

TOM: Well, Dot, do you have a forced-air heating system or are you looking for a portable unit?

DOT: A portable unit.

TOM: Hmm. OK.

LESLIE: Do you have forced air in the house or you don’t?

DOT: I have forced air.

LESLIE: You do.

TOM: Well, you’re much, much better off installing a whole-home air cleaner that really scrubs the air in the entire house than a portable unit, because you’re going to find that a portable unit is not going to be nearly as effective and it’s also a lot more expensive to run and it requires a lot more maintenance.

LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Plus, you’re going to need like 10 of them.

DOT: OK.

TOM: So, a whole-home unit gets installed on the return side of your heating and air conditioning system and it basically captures all the dust particles in all the air that goes through there, traps it in a filter and then you have to change the filter usually about once a year or so, with this type.

LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Mm-hmm. And the filter is ginormous (ph). I mean, it is just folds and folds and folds, like accordion style, of this super-dense fabric that traps everything even as small as viral size, which the portable units, a lot of them don’t have filters; there’s just some sort of metal blade, if you will, that you have to clean.

Plus, with the portable units, I mean, think about it, Dot, that the air that only passes through the portable unit is the air that’s going to get clean. So if you put it in a corner, maybe a five-foot radius around it is all that’s going to work. But with the whole-house air purifier, as the air cycles through the system, it’s constantly being cleaned and scrubbed: smoke, odor, allergens, dust, virus-sized particulates. It really does an amazing job of getting about – what is it, like 99 percent of the particles out of the air?

TOM: Yeah. Let me give you a couple of recommendations, Dot. There are two products out there that are pretty good: one is called Trane Clean Effects – T-r-a-n-e – Clean Effects and the other one is the Aprilaire Model 5000. Both are very effective, whole-house air cleaners. They can be installed by a local heating and cooling professional and they’ll do the job that you need to do.

DOT: I thank you very much. I like listening to your radio program; you’re very helpful.

LESLIE: Thanks, Dot.

TOM: Thank you so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.

GeneralAir ConditioningPodcasts Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast

Related Posts

air filter

Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter from 3M Clears the Air and Captures Allergens

Woman adjusting a thermostat

Should You Repair or Replace Your HVAC System?

Trane CleanEffects Electronic Air Cleaner

The Money Pit Tips & Tricks text logo with lightbulb

Filtrete Odor Reduction Filter Clears Indoor Air

The Money Pit Tips & Tricks text logo with lightbulb

Clearing the air about air cleaners: Whole-house vs. room

house automation, best heating system, understand heating system

Best Heating System: Forced Air vs. Hot Water vs. Electric vs. Solar

Related Podcasts

The Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast Logo

Which Air Conditioners and Filters Work Best for Eliminating Odors?

Upgrade Your HVAC Filter to Improve Home Air Quality

The Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast Logo

Air Cleaners for Your Home

The Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast Logo

Whole House Air Cleaners Work With Your Furnace

Forced Air Filters

The Money Pit Your Calls Our Answers Podcast Logo

Air Conditioning Options: Window vs. Portable

FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar

Trending Posts

Get Ready for the Game with The Money Pit’s $1,000 Tailgate Treasures Sweepstakes!

Attic flooring added to increase storage space

How to Floor Your Attic for Storage Without Wrecking Your Roof

Best Garage Floor: Tiles, Mat or Paint?

Garage Heater Dyna-Glo 30,000 BTU Natural Gas Blue Flame Vent Free Wall Heater, White

Best Heaters for a Garage: Forced Air, Infrared or Portable?

How to Get Rid of Thousand-Leggers Without Getting Grossed Out

Ask Us Anything

Ask A Question

Favorite Posts

Attic flooring added to increase storage space

How to Floor Your Attic for Storage Without Wrecking Your Roof

How to Get Rid of Thousand-Leggers Without Getting Grossed Out

Best Garage Floor: Tiles, Mat or Paint?

Dryer vent on outside of building

Controlling Dryer Lint Outside | Video

Popular Podcasts

Repair Crumbling Cinder Block

Electric Meter

Service Entry Cable and Electric Meter: Who is responsible for repair?

dirt to use around house foundation

Type of Dirt to Use Around House Foundation

What Smells Like Burning Rubber in My Home?

Newsletter

Get weekly updates with the latest tips and tricks to save money in your home.

As Us Anything

Ask A Question

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • About
  • Media Kit
  • Partners
  • Posts
  • Endorsement Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy & Solution
  • Radio Stations

Copyright © 2001–2023 · The Money Pit · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Ask A Question